[Hillary] Clinton laid groundwork in this area decades ago (San Antonio, TX)-

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http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/elections/stories/MYSA021708.01A.Texas-Ties.3584f67.html

Clinton laid groundwork in this area decades ago (San Antonio, TX)-

Web Posted: 02/18/2008 12:34 AM CST

Greg Jefferson
Express-News

In 1972, Hillary Clinton left Texas in far better shape than did Sen. George McGovern.

He got trounced in the Lone Star state in his campaign against President Nixon. But Clinton — then Hillary Rodham, a Yale law student — came away with ties to Hispanic voters that she now sees as crucial to her campaign for Texas' March 4 presidential primary.

She registered voters here and in the Rio Grande Valley, putting her on the doorsteps of numerous Latinos and in touch with local politicos and union organizers, for McGovern's campaign. Bill Clinton, her then-boyfriend, was organizing the state for McGovern.

When the registration period ended, she helped guide the San Antonio campaign in the last few weeks before the election.

Sen. Clinton, state Rep. José Menéndez and state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte — both San Antonio Democrats — hammered home that experience during her rally Wednesday night in St. Mary's University's sports arena. …..

"We used to say there's not a belly laugh in her," said Peters, a McGovern volunteer who worked for the AFL-CIO's political education arm in San Antonio. "Hillary was very, very serious. She studied the issues deeply, and she really did care about improving people's lives."